Ducks Keep Offshore Wind Away from Sejerø Bugt

Danish authorities have decided that the Sejerø Bugt site is off limits to nearshore wind developers and that the deadline for submitting final bids for other five sites is now pushed to 1 September, the Danish Wind Industry Association said.

Sejerø Bugt was identified as one of six sites suitable for development of nearshore wind farms, and was part of Danish Energy Agency’s call for tenders for the construction of six wind farms totaling 350MW in capacity. The site was dropped on fears that it might affect a population of sea ducks which winter in the area, according to the local media.

Back in March, Denmark’s Ministry of Energy, Utilities and Climate postponed the deadline for final bids for the wind farms from 4 April until 4 May, saying that the additional time was needed to ”clarify the consequences” of an environmental impact assessment which suggested that the farm could affect a population of migratory common scoter.

The nearshore wind farm site Sejerø Bugt is located 8 km from the coast of western Zealand, north of the city of Kalundborg. The potential wind farm at the site could have the capacity of up to 200MW.

The original tender was projected to be closed in the spring of 2016, with wind farms expected to be completed in 2020. The other five nearshore wind farm sites are Vesterhav Nord, Vesterhav Syd, Sæby, Smålandsfarvandet, and Bornholm.

Offshore WIND Staff